Stuart L. Sternberg (born August 8, 1959) is an American

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investor. He is the principal shareholder of the ownership group that owns the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

and acts as the team's Managing General Partner since November 2005.

Early life

The youngest of three children, Sternberg was born on August 8, 1959, and raised in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family on Avenue M in the

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Ave ...

neighborhood of New York's

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

borough He is the son of Beverly (née Tartell) and Samuel Sternberg and his parents owned a pillow shop on

Flatbush Avenue Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the R ...

. His passion for baseball developed in his childhood while playing the game in the streets and playgrounds of his neighborhood. One of Sternberg's most cherished memories is when he saw

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

pitch while attending his first Major League game with his father at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

in 1965. Sternberg has played in various organized baseball leagues over his lifetime and coached his two sons'

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

through third grade, wearing a

kippah A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the ...

every day and went to

Canarsie High School Canarsie High School, which opened in 1964, is a defunct public high school in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie in New York City. Closed in 2011, the building currently operates as Canarsie Educational Campus, housing several smaller high s ...

Career in the financial services industry

In 1978, Sternberg began his professional career trading equity options part-time at the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was know ...

while attending St. John's University earning a degree in finance. After college Sternberg was hired by investment group Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, and he eventually became a partner in the firm before he moved to

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...

. In 2002 he retired from the company as a partner. He has served on several committees and advisory boards in the financial securities industry.

Major League Baseball

Purchasing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Sternberg purchased a 48% plurality-share in the previously named Devil Rays (now known as the Tampa Bay Rays) in May 2004 from Vince Naimoli and took over operations becoming a managing general partner in October 2005. He structured his bid for controlling interest in the team with fellow Goldman Sachs partner

Matthew Silverman Matthew Silverman (born May 20, 1976) is an American professional baseball executive. He is currently the co-president, along with Brian Auld, of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Biography Silverman is Jewish and was raised in ...

whom he hired as the team's president.

Interest in Buying the New York Mets

In February 2011, an article in ''Business Insider'' speculated that Sternberg would be a potential owner of the New York Mets. Two major factors that supported the theory is that Sternberg is a Mets season ticket holder and that Sternberg had expressed negative feelings about the Rays due to low fan attendance. However this was proven wrong in a recent interview. He said he was happy with the Rays and has no interest in buying another team. Many Tampa Bay Rays fans said they had hoped he would sell the Rays and buy the Mets citing the owner's lack of commitment to the area and the on-field product.

Frustration with the Rays in St. Petersburg

In a June 2011 ''

Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing '' Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''S ...

'' interview he said, "I know we can't sustain ourselves like this. It hasn't gotten better. If anything, it's worse. To run a payroll like we do now, basically the second-lowest in baseball, and barely keep our nose above water, we can't sustain that. Baseball is just not going to stand for it anymore. And they'll find a place for me. They won't find a place here though." He reiterated his stance and raised the specter of relocation after the Rays were eliminated from the playoffs that season. However he has stated several times that he is staying with the team and they are not moving anywhere within the coming years. In October 2014, it was reported that Sternberg frustrated with efforts to build a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area, had discussions with Wall Street associates about moving the Rays to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, which has not had an MLB franchise since the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005 to become the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Personal life

Sternberg currently resides in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

with his wife, Lisa, and four children, Sanford, Jake, Natalie, and Ella.

References

Sources

Front Office DirectoryTeam's new boss: 'Baseball junkie' with business savvyAn Open Letter to Stuart Sternberg from BaseLine Report: Why There is Hope for the Rays